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Thursday, 19 December 2024
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Cyprus News Agency: News in English, 12-05-25Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next ArticleFrom: The Cyprus News Agency at <http://www.cyna.org.cy>CONTENTS
[01] Keijiro Matsushima: Recalling the horror of HiroshimaHe was only 16 when his life changed forever. A young boy with aspirations to become an engineer. A young boy who had just started the day's classes at his Technical School, taking in the morning sunshine as he looked out of the window when a single bomb dropped by a single aircraft flattened Hiroshima, introducing mankind to the horror of atomic bombs.Keijiro Matsushima is one of the oldest survivors of the first atomic bomb, dropped on the Japanese town of Hiroshima on 6th July 1945. At 2:45 a.m. an American B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, took off from Tinian, in the Marianas, 1,500 miles south of Japan with a 12-man crew on board and Colonel Paul Tibbets, the pilot. The massive bomb, codenamed "Little Boy", killed an estimated 80,000 people. By the end of the year, injury and radiation brought total casualties to 90,000–140,000. Approximately 69% of the city`s buildings were completely destroyed, and another 7% severely damaged. Matsushima was in Cyprus recently to address a symposium entitled "World War I – World War II – 10 years of horror – 81 million lives perished", organized by the House of Representatives, where he talked about his life-changing experience. In an interview with CNA, he expressed great appreciation for visiting Cyprus, as "I am pleased to have the opportunity to talk with people to transmit the appeal from the citizens of Hiroshima about peace and a no-nuke world". Recalling the day, Matsushima said "I was just a 16 year-old student, I was in the classroom that morning". It was a sunny day, and he looked out of the window to see two American planes flying, but he did not think anything of them. Glancing at his book, "I felt a big shockwave and a strong flash and a heat wave…I jumped under the desk, a huge noise followed and a pitch black cloud. After that it became so quiet, no voice, no sound". [02] Cypriot EU Commissioner underlines role of the press in democracyCypriot EU Commissioner for Education, Culture, Multilingualism, Youth and Sport Androulla Vassiliou has pledged to work with a view to ensure that the newspaper sector will keep fulfilling its invaluable role as a force of democracy, integration and inclusion of all citizens.Vassiliou addressed here on Friday a European Newspaper Publishers Association (ENPA) General Assembly on media literacy, the value of copyright and the level of VAT applied to newspapers in print and digital formats. "It is essential that newspapers continue to inform, educate and engage citizens in the democratic debate", she noted. She added that "you can rely on my support as Commissioner for education and culture to ensure that the conditions are met for the newspaper sector to thrive, so that it can keep fulfilling its invaluable role as a force for democracy, integration and inclusion of all citizens". Referring to Cyprus, Vassiliou said "we are a small island but we have a very rich and lively tradition in journalism". Newspapers in particular, she added, "have played and still play a very important role in our civic, political and cultural life". Cyprus News Agency: News in English Directory - Previous Article - Next Article |
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